


A Machine and his Backpack

by NormalIsntInMyVocabulary



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: A WILD RIDE, A body in a backpack, And Neither Do I, Angst, Crack fic????, Dora wouldn't like this, Dwarf Gouarmi, Everybody hates him, Fluff, Follows the plot loosely of the game then spirals off, Hurt/Comfort, Leopard Gecko, M/M, Slow Burn, Slow character build, and I'm no exception, at least for awhile, let the boy have his pets, mature for later chapters, mute character, yall are gonna hate me for this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-20
Updated: 2018-11-20
Packaged: 2019-08-26 09:09:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,313
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16678723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NormalIsntInMyVocabulary/pseuds/NormalIsntInMyVocabulary
Summary: It was a normal day; as normal as you could get with full with air, stomach full with gears, and a duffel-bag full with half a body.Markus didn't have much of a choice when taking the android from the junkyard with him, both of them now trying to find Jericho for their own separate reasons. Neither of them know the other, but with them stuck together by a power chord keeping the stranger alive, Markus was sure that he'd be able to find him help. Little did he know just how much trouble he was getting himself into.





	A Machine and his Backpack

_It was a normal day; as normal as you could get with full with air, stomach full with gears, and a duffel-bag full with half a body._

There were many downsides to stuffing half a man inside a gym bag; the most apparent being there drops of glowing blue blood that Markus would have to smear with his shoe to hide. “Which one did you say you wanted again?” The man carrying the bag questioned. The back bag, draped over his shoulder, moved as the person inside tried to undo the zipper just enough to see the tanks of water lining the wall of the pet shop. There were different forms of fishes in each tank, as it’d be more concerning if that wasn’t the case. Some were yellow while others were pitch black, while there were even a few smaller ones that shared both these colors. It honestly looked like someone had managed to take the rainbow and make droplets before dropping them into the water to swim around between make seaweed and suck on pebbles all day long.  

The man in the bag reached out a hand, Markus’s face going pale when he saw the deskinned limb extending from the bag. He took a hold of the mechanical hand and, not too concerned for the mud coating the porcelain plastic and dirt-covered silicone. Pushed it back into the bag. “Just text it to me. You still have your phone in there, right?”  The silence from the bag wasn’t meant as an insult; even as Markus made sure to keep his voice quiet enough for only those right next to him to hear, which was luckily nobody, It was understandable why the pet store was barren of people, except for the woman behind the counter that looked like she’d rather be at a lecture saying why ‘the mealworm is the best animal in the world’ rather than be here at her job. After all, the first reaction from people after hearing that Carl’s android had attacked his son the night before wasn’t ‘let's go buy a cat’.  “I just can’t have people spotting us is all,” Markus soon answered when the own phone, to which he might’ve used Carl’s credit information to buy, was silent in his hand. The last thing Markus needed was someone to recognize him, and a squirming torso in a bag would tend to do that if anyone peek inside. “So, which one did you say you wanted?”

It took a moment for his phone to give off a small ping, soon setting his phone to vibrate to keep any attention off them.  He opened it up to see a small photo of a blue and red fish the bag man had pulled off the internet, only more apparent by the large stock photo watermark covering the image. Markus finally found the Gourami they were looking for, deciding to go with the smallest one so they could transport it easier. Markus was still struggling to wrap his head over why this android wanted a fish, but if it made him at least start talking then that’d be a start. After all, the cable running down from the back of Markus neck, hidden inside his coat, down his sleeve, and into the bag to connect with the android wasn’t exactly a thing you do with strangers. Yet here they were, not even knowing the other’s name. _Is this one okay?_ Markus sent the text, along with a photo of the fish he was planning on getting for the man. All he got was a smiling emote in return. Well, it was better than being left on read. _Alright, we’ll get some fish food as well._ Once again, there was another smile in return. Was this how they were going to communicate from now on? Markus was hoping that wouldn’t be the case. _Then I’ll find us a bowl to put it in._

There was no reply for several minutes, but he watched those three dots moving. They’d disappear, and then reappear until he finally got a text in response. He frowned, just like the emote he received. _A fish needs a bowl._ The text didn’t get a response, Markus sighing and stuffing the phone back into the pocket of his brown coat he had found, not particularly favoring it but it would do in a pinch. With a sigh under his breath and a drag to his step, Markus hauled both himself and the bag boy over to the counter. “Hello, miss.” He noticed the blue LED on the side of the woman’s head, wondering why she looked like she didn’t want to be there if this was her assigned post. “May I buy a fish? I need a few things for it too.” The woman nodded, stepping out from behind the counter in her awful uniform. See, it wasn’t the red hair having to be tied back so tight to where it looked like she’d be scalped with one wrong move, nor her khakis or green collared shirt with the store Logo on the front that was the issue; it was her apron with a tacky dog patterned design on it in the form of different colored paw prints and even the name tag in the form of a cat paw. She gestured for Markus to lead the way, him having no issue in turning to go back to the fish tank with the Gourami he wanted.  

“Do you have a safe place to store her?” She questioned, getting the small fish net, as well as a beg ready with some water from the tank.  

“Yes,” he replied; a duffle bag _certainly_ being a safe place for a pet who, you know, _wasn’t supposed to move around._ Still, she seemed at least happy enough to give them the fish, Markus beginning to wonder if that frown was what people referred to as ‘resting bitch face’; soon leading him to think if he had one as well. “I’ll also need a bo-” His phone vibrated in his pocket, Markus’s expression going blank as he didn’t even have to pull it out to know who it was from. “A bag of pebbles, for the tank.” He corrected, fishing out his phone with his one free hand, holding the now tied off bag in the other. _What are you going to keep the fish in if we don’t get a bowl?_ He typed out, seeing the three dots appear once again.  

_Hand._

_What? Your hand?_ Markus didn’t know what that meant, but he already had the fish and couldn’t really turn back now. So, he just had to trust that bag-boy knew what he was doing. _Fine. I’m trusting you._ He made sure the android knew, getting a final smiling emote in response. Putting his phone into his pocket yet again, he returned his attention to the woman who was looking curiously at his bag. She didn’t bother to ask about it yet, just noting it was there for now.  

“Do you already have a tank at home?” She politely questioned, getting a nod in response from Markus. “So then all you need is food and pebbles, correct?” Once again there was a small nod, her leading the way over to a shelf among the many head-level ones arranged in the store. Some had heat lamps and and resting rocks for reptiles, wondering if he’d prefer to have something easier to transport such as a gecko. He did notice that the tanks, equipped as they should for the small geckos, the one on near the floor was empty. Markus assumed the animal was bought, so he thought nothing of it.

As they finally approached the fish care taking items, he got his fish flakes, as well as a tiny bag of pebbles, picking pink because that was the only color they had in such a small rock size; it’s difficult to find smoothed pebbled about the size of the average fingertip, and it’s expensive too. It didn’t take too much beyond that to purchase the required items, just giving the nice woman Carl’s credit card information. Was Carl most likely going to question how Markus was alive and why he was buying fish? Certainly.

He was about to head for Jericho when he spotted a dark gray backpack across the street in a different store window, wondering if it would be big enough to carry this bag man in instead. It wouldn’t hurt to try, so he handed the fish and the two other items over to the hand that had appeared out of the bag, quickly retreating with his new friend, Markus not seeing the smaller pair of eyes inside the bag that had crawled in. Instead, he fished out his phone as he went to go buy the backpack, taking a quick photo of it. _Think you’ll fit in that?_

There was a long pause, him already heading inside before he saw a smiling emote in return to his question. He sighed, not liking the yes or no guessing game, but he’d put up with it for now. At the least, he could hand the man off when they got to Jericho, and that’d be the end of that story. So, as he bought the bag without any issues, he headed over to the fence to finally continue following the signs he had gotten distracted from. The fabric of the bag was surprisingly stiff against his hands, and it was by no means a sturdy pouch to carry even a laptop. But when Markus saw the small hole in the fence, he was at least happy he bought it in case he needed it. “I need to put you down,” he commented, there being a sft tug on the cord that connects the two from the sliver of the bag that had to stay open. “Hey, don’t pull on that. Last thing either of them needed was to deal with a dead android. Well, it’d be easier on Markus’s end, but he did _not_ even consider that an option. So, placing the bag on the ground, looking around quickly to see if anyone was there, he lifted the bottom corner of the wire fence, pushing the bag gently along the ground. A few streaks of thirium came from the soaked bottom of the bag, staining the pavement, as well as the dirt he was scooted onto before Markus followed his path. Seeing the abandoned cars, as well as the empty dumpster and the ledge he’d surely have to climb, he sighed as he picked up the bag. “I’m afraid I can’t take this bag up there. Let’s see if we can get you into this new one.”

As he sat the bag down on a somewhat hidden clearing of dry, cracked dirt, he sat down right in front of it. The thick, blue glowing cable finally peaked further out of his sleeve as he put just a few inches of space between him and the bag after undoing it. “Do you need help sitting up?” There was silence, Markus not getting any sort of response. “Hey, you alright in there?” Once again, there was no response. Finally, Markus decided to peel back the thin fold of the bag to see what the android was doing inside.

The first thing that caught his attention was the brown locks, chunks of dried mud clumping smaller locks together that Markus was worried could hurt the android too much if he tried to remove them. Then, the honey. Doe-like eyes that narrowed as he got a sudden glimpse of the late afternoon sky, soon returning to normal--well as normal as his right eye twitching can be. Dirt and dust licked and hugged his face, the skin still remaining on everything except his two arms. He had his hands raised, squeezing a thirium-pouch like a juice box, the torn end of the pouch past his lips as he drank from it. “You thirsty?” Markus commented, eyes glancing down to his metal rib-cage, pried apart further than a pair of hooker’s legs, exposing all the fragile and squishy bio-components inside. How did they try to fix his organs quite literally being exposed to the elements, each pulsing each time he drank? Well, they covered them up with plastic wrap, it being at least some sort of protection. Still, it didn’t help that there was grime and mud caking each one. “You know, it’s lucky I found you back there in the junkyard. Could’ve been bad if you were left out there for a few more minutes.

This had to do with why The power supply cable at the base of the back of Markus’s neck was connected to the red, flashing thirium-pump that was exposed. The Android’s core was ruined, only having five minutes of time on its own before he would shut off, and Markus didn’t know if he could be turned back on with these extensive injuries. His attention was drawn to why the Android hadn’t been speaking. His throat was ripped to shreds, his vocal box missing as small chunks of plastic and shreds of silicone hung from the wound that slowly filled with thirium, Markus dug his hands inside the beg to help the robot sit up so the thirium could just drip down instead of collecting there. “Want to type out your name for me? I don’t think I ever got the chance to ask for it.”

Markus assisted the robot out of the ruined duffel-bag, having to prop him up with one arm to open the backpack so he could lift him and set him in there. Careful not to get anything snagged, the robot began to type away on his phone before Markus heard his phone go off. As Markus noted how just the androids torso was snugly placed in the bag, his arms and head sticking out, he knew it wouldn’t make due forever. But at least he seemed to fit in it well. So, digging out his phone yet again, he saw a three-letter word on his screen. “Con? Is that your full name?” The Android shook his head. “Is that what you like to go by?” Finally he nodded, sucking the last bit of thirium out of the pouch before pulling it away from his mouth. “Here, I’ll throw that away for you.”

He gently took the thin plastic pouch away from Con, finally noticing why the fish didn’t need a bowl. His right upper arm was made of glass, it filled with the water from the bag, the fish swimming around in the small makeshift bowl of the android’s limb. “That’s-” Markus was wondering if this Android has been struck on the head, but he just let it slide. He then noted the layer of small pink rocks resting inside near his elbow joint where the ‘tank’ ended, the little fish seeming happy enough where it was. That, and the brief smile he only saw in the corner of his eyes, it being forced down once Con noticed he could see it making Markus decide to leave that subject for a later time. “That’s creative.”

Picking up the bag with a grunt, he hauled Con onto his back, adjusting the backpack straps so he wouldn’t fall off his back. “Let’s throw away this old nasty bag.” Markus picked it up, only to see something move around inside. His eyes widened for a moment, unsure of what it was until he noticed a fat little scaly creature inside. “Con, did this come from the pet store?” Actually, he didn’t want to know the answer, carefully picking up the small reptile. The gecko was tiny, it’s fat tail wiggling, just like the rest of its body in excitement. Markus chuckled at the small creature, noticing one of the legs twitching more-so in joy as the spotted soft yellow and pinkish gecko wanted to be cuddled by the Android currently secured to Markus’s back. “I think she likes you,” Markus jokingly commented, carefully rising his hands over his own head until he felt the ghostly graze of fingers that he could’ve easily mistaken with the wind. As he lowered his now gecko-free hands back down, he put the duffel-bag into the empty dumpster before pushing it over to the wall, climbing on top of it so he could then climb onto the ledge.

Markus didn’t attempt to make any small talk, knowing that all he would be met with was a stiff silence. Of course he wasn’t blaming Con for this, knowing he couldn’t talk. A tinge of pity crossed his expression, causing his brow to furrow as he tried to comprehend what Con’s situation was. How did he get so mangled in the first place? How much pain was he in, with his metal and carbon spine exposed, wires pulled out and god knows what other extensive damage that surely would make anyone else scream. Hell, would he cry out in agony if he could speak, or could he even feel the pain that would’ve followed from the damage? He didn’t linger on this too long as he noticed the hole in the roof they seemed to be standing on, the symbols in the wall art telling him they had to pass it. “Might want to hold on,” He commented.

Con put the Gecko down into the bag with him, it seeming to nestle itself against his warm, exposed stomach components, but he didn’t mind. He wrapped his arms carefully around Markus’s neck, looking like he was getting a very strange and morbid piggy-back ride. He wasn’t entirely sure what Markus was planning, but he wasn’t going to question it. Hell, he _couldn’t_ question it, at least vocally. However, it was when Markus ran towards the hole that, if Con could scream, he would’ve. The first thing that probably would’ve come out of his mouth would’ve been ‘stop’, soon followed by a ‘are you on red ice?’, but that wasn’t exactly possible. So he just had to regret being saved by the parkour-wannabe that jumped over the whole, using the wall to at least jump towards that and twist his body to launch himself off that surface.

They landed with a hard grunt from Markus, not used to the weight on his back. Granted Con didn’t weight that much, being made mostly out of silicone and lightweight plastic. In fact, he probably weight the same amount as an actual backpack just pull of a few laptops instead. That’s probably why he got broke so easily, wondering it they could strengthen his build at Jericho--if they could repair him at all. “You alright?” The arms around his neck had gotten tighter since the jump, not sure if that was Con’s way of telling him to knock it off or if that was a gesture for a simple affirmation. “Good to know,” he assumed it was the latter.

But he should’ve assumed the former, Con’s eyes narrowing for a second before his eyes focused on his new pet fish. He supposed he could put up with this since Markus did in fact buy him more than what he needed to. markus didn’t need to buy him anything, so he was thankful that he was kind enough to be concerned about what Con wanted. Or perhaps it was to stop his crying. Bags tend to get ruined faster with someone constantly crying and refusing to stay still inside. But that’s of course _totally not what he did_ . No, _not at all._

The rest of the trip up towards the broken ledge overlooking the abandoned ship only confirmed Con’s regret in going with Markus, not sure how they were going to get down there. “You ready?” Markus asked him, Con’s face going pale. He was _not_  going to do it. Why was Markus backing up. Oh no. Oh he _was._

Before Markus could even get his run started, he winced loudly at the fist slamming into the top of his head. What the fuck was Con trying to do, knock him out. His eyes narrowed as he huffed loudly, trying to get his run started again. But as soon as his pace picked up, Markus was forced to stop at the fist yet again. “What! This is the fastest way down!”

Not on Con’s fucking watch. There was _no_ way Markus was getting him to go down like a bird being shot out of the sky. Might as well have died back in the junkyard in that case. He pulled out his phone from inside the bag, texting away to try and talk to Markus.

There was a small ping, Markus sighing in frustration as he pulled it out to see the frowning face emote. “You don’t want to get down there? Well what do you suggest we do then?” Honestly that was kind of unfair, asking him to give a response when Con couldn’t even vocalize his thoughts, but I digress. When he got no response, Markus let out a slight huff. “Then do you want to stop for the day? Rest for now and we can figure out something in the morning?”

There were three little dots on his phone, a final smiling emote coming up. Markus stuffed his phone back into his coat pocket, strolling over to one of the walls and carefully peeling the backpack off himself, setting it down on the ground. “Well, then I can get to know you better.” That didn’t sound like a bad idea. After all, he only really knew two things about Con; his name, and that he at some point either got fucked up, or had the time of his life. Probably the former, but Markus wouldn’t put it past him. “Can you talk in more than emotes to me?”

He once again pulled out his phone once he saw Con typing away, watching the three little dots keep appearing and disappearing before he decided it’d be best to ask Con a question. “So you said earlier that Con is what you like to go by. What’s your actual name?”

_Connew._

Fucking what--What the fuck? Markus stared at the word for a moment, wondering if it had been a typo. So he decided to turn it into a joke. “Conne _-w?”_ He emphasized the w, Con frowning at that.

_Nu. Connew. Wou know._

_This was it. Markus just had a stroke._ Surely he was reading this wrong. Can an Android forget how to read? “Uh-” Markus was at a loss for words for a second. “Conne _-r_?” He spoke aloud, Conner nodding. “Is--Why’d you spell it that way?”

_Dwis is how I tawk. Both wid mwoi voice, and mwoi twexting uwu_

Did--Did this fucker just uwu him? Markus looked like he was having a heart attack. He has never come across an Android that spoke like this, but _God,_ did he _hate_ it. “You’re serious,” Markus couldn’t exactly wrap his head around it. “Well uh- Conner, can I ask how you ended up like this?” He was hoping for some sort of ‘I hit my head on the pavement twenty times and now I talk like this,’ or at least some reason as to why he spoke in such a god awful way, but he didn’t get any of the answers he wanted.

_I got in a wittwe twoubwe back in dwa Jwavewawd, but I’m bwettew now._

“Better? Conner, I wouldn’t call this better.” God, he’d hate to see what Conner looked like before if this is _‘better’_.  Still, he wasn’t going to push the topic if Conner wanted to keep it vague. “What’d you name your pets?” Markus decided to ask, unsure of half the words he was even getting through his texts.

_I named dwem Gowdy and Twitch._

He could understand the second one, but his eyes narrowed as he tried to figure out exactly the first one said. “... _Goldy_?” He repeated as if it was the biggest question of his life, looking over to see Conner nodding. Well at least they could have a conversation...even if Markus was regretting it horribly. “But it’s not a Goldfish.”

_But she’s pwetty wike gowd._

Markus couldn’t deny that the reasoning was beyond stupid, but it was somewhat understandable if you look at it through ‘this could be a really bad LSD trip’ set of mind. “And why’d you name your lizard Twitch?” This time Conner didn’t reply, Markus looking up from his phone to once again notice the twitch in Conner’s right eye. “Is it cause you twitch?” There was another ding as Conner typed.

_Hew weg twitches, and mwoi eyes does twuu. So we both twitch uwu._

Okay, even if the spelling was horrid, Markus couldn’t stop a somewhat amused chuckle for a moment at that reason. He supposed they did share that in common. “Well,” Markus caught a glimpse of a yawn from the android. He wasn’t aware that Conner was tired until now. “Do you want to sleep?” All he got in return was a shrug. “Do you think you can sleep in there?” There was a moment where he didn’t respond before finally nodding, Markus not letting that pause go unnoticed. “Well, do you want to sleep out here?”

With a short nod, Markus took that answer at face value before leaning his weight back onto the wall he was sitting against, deciding that sleep was a good idea. That, and he was hoping the strange typing was either his own, or Conner’s doing due to sleep deprivation.  “Goodnight, Conner.” Was the best goodnight he was mustering up as he shut down, not waiting for Conner to fall asleep first.

This was certainly going to be strange for the both of them, but hey-- _things could be worse, right?_


End file.
